Beyond expectations, swimmer Nguyen Huy Hoang earned two more gold medals for Vietnam on May 19 – also the last competition day of swimming at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

In the men’s 800m freestyle, Vietnam’s No.1 swimmer finished first with a time of 7 minutes and 57.65 seconds. Meanwhile, his teammate Nguyen Huu Kim Son secured the silver medal with 8 minutes and 4.23 seconds.

Thirty minutes later, Hoang surprised all when coming first in the men’s 200m butterfly which is not his forte.

At this Games, Hoang personally pocketed four gold medals and contributed to the victory of the Vietnamese team in the men’s 4x100m relay.

The Vietnamese swimming team won a total of 11 gold, 11 silver and three bronze medals, ranking second in the medal table. The Singaporean team ranks first in this sport, with 21 golds, 11 silvers and 12 bronzes.

SEA Games 31: Vietnam secure two more gold in shooting

Vietnamese shooters earned two gold and one silver medals on May 19, the fourth competition day of shooting at the ongoing SEA Games 31.

The first gold was seized by Tran Quoc Cuong, Phan Cong Minh and Pham Quang Huy, who took the first place in the men's 10m air pistol team event, with 1,713 points. Their Indonesian and Thai opponents obtained the silver and bronze medals with 1,708 and 1,695 points, respectively.

Cuong, the most experienced shooter of Vietnam, also brought home a silver medal on the day for his performance in the men’s 10m air pistol, with Wong Guanjie Johnathan of Malaysia bagging gold and Prabowo Muhammad Iqbal Raia of Indonesia securing the bronze medal.

The Vietnamese shooting squad has so far earned four gold and three silver medals, ranking just behind Indonesia in the tally.

SEA Games 31: Two more golds for Vietnam’s Vovinam fighters

Vovinam (Vietnamese martial arts) artists won additional two gold medals on May 19 – the second competition day of Vovinam at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

In the men’s 60kg combat event, Nguyen Thanh Liem knocked out his Cambodian rival Eh Ammarin Phouthong to pocket the gold medal.

Meanwhile, Do Phuong Thao triumphed in the women’s 65kg combat event after defeating Cambodia’s Chuk Somali.

In the performance category, duo Pham Thi Bich Phuong and Truong Thanh won a silver medal, while the gold belonged to Mala Chanthalacksa - Phiksamay Insoumuang of Laos.

After two days, the Vietnamese Vovinam team added three golds and three silvers to the national medal tally.

The sport’s competitions will continue on May 20.

SEA Games 31: Thailand take women’s futsal title

The women’s futsal team of Thailand beat host Vietnam 2-1 in the final match on May 19, taking the gold medal in the women’s futsal competition at SEA Games 31.

This is the fifth consecutive SEA Games that the Thai women’s futsal team have claimed the title.

It is regrettable for Vietnam because before the match, they had the same points as Thailand and a better goal difference.

Earlier, the match between Malaysia and Myanmar ended with a 3-3 draw, giving each team one point, but Malaysia got the bronze thanks to a better goal difference.

SEA Games 31: Judokas earn additional two gold medals

The Vietnamese judo team continued to have a successful competition day on May 19 at the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), as they secured two more gold and two bronze medals.

Specifically, Le Anh Tai successfully defended his gold medal in the men’s under-90kg category after defeating his Filipino rival.

Meanwhile, in the women’s under-63kg category, Nguyen Thi Huong triumphed over an Indonesian judoka to pocket her first SEA Games gold medal.

One day earlier, Vietnamese judokas grabbed two gold, one silver and one bronze medals in the men’s Kodokan Goshin Jutsu and women’s Katame No Kata events.

SEA Games 31: Vietnamese wrestling team end last competition day with five more golds

The Vietnamese wrestling team participated in six men’s events on May 19, the last day of wrestling at the SEA Games 31, and pocketed five gold medals.

Vietnamese wrestlers won the titles in the 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg and 97kg, and only lost to Laos and dropped to silver in the 125kg category.  

As such, after three days of competition, the team won a total 17 gold medals for Vietnam, marking a successful SEA Games for the sport.

SEA Games 31: Karate brings Vietnam four golds on May 19

The Vietnamese karate team performed excellently on May 19, the second day of karate competition during the ongoing SEA Games 31, winning four more golds on the day.

The trio Nguyen Thi Phuong, Luu Thi Thu Uyen and Nguyen Ngoc Tram brought home the gold in women’s team kata.

Two female artists of Vietnam won gold, Bui Thi Thao in women’s kumite over 68kg and Ho Thi Thu Hien in women’s kumite under 68kg, while Do Thanh Nhan pocketed gold in men’s kumite under 84kg.

Meanwhile, the gold in women’s kumite under 55kg went to Sanyistyarani Cok Istri Agung (Indonesia) and Raghonathan Sharmendran (Malaysia) claimed gold in the men’s kumite under 75kg.

Besides the four golds, Vietnam also had two bronze medals on May 19.

During the day, Indonesia claimed one gold and four silvers, Malaysia one gold and two bronzes, the Philippines three bronzes, Thailand one silver and two bronzes, Cambodia three bronzes and Laos two silvers.

Karate competitions are taking place at the gymnasium of Ninh Binh province from May 18-20, with 15 sets of medals up for grab.

Vietnam athlete breaks record in javelin to win gold

Vietnam's track and field athlete Lo Thi Hoang broke the SEA Games record in the women's javelin throw of 56.37m and won the gold medal on May 18.

The record of 55.97m set by Thai athlete Buoban Pamang at the 24th SEA Games in 2007 in Thailand was unbeatable for 15 years.

Hoang is one of the four athletes from ethnic minority groups in the northern mountainous province of Son La province at SEA Games 31.

In the previous SEA Games, she only won a silver medal in women's javelin throw with 55.77m.

SEA Games 31: Vietnam win gold, silver in 1-cushion carom billiards

Vietnam’s Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu and Pham Quoc Tuan have won gold and silver medals in the 1-cushion carom billiards event at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

The finals were rescheduled after Tuan tested positive for coronavirus one day earlier.

In line with regulations, Tuan could not participate in the final. As a result, he got the silver medal and his Vietnamese teammate bagged gold.

Two bronze medals went to Efren Reyes and Francisco Dela Cruz of the Philippines.

Also on May 19, a series of billiards matches have been scheduled, including the semi-final of the English Billiards 100 up between the Vietnamese pair Nguyen Thanh Binh - Tran Le Anh Tuan and their Myanmar opponents Min Sithu Tun - Pauk Sa; and the quarter-final of 3-cushion carom between Tran Quyet Chien of Vietnam and Efren Reyes of the Philippines.

SEA Games 31: Vietnam win gold in men’s team rapid chess

Vietnamese chess players won gold in the men’s and and silver in the women’s team rapid chess events at SEA Games 31 on May 19.

Six men’s teams and five women’s teams played in the round-robin format, with four matches for female players and five matches for their male teammates.

Le Quang Liem and Tran Tuan Minh competed in the men’s event, and Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Vo Thi Kim Phung in the women’s competition.

After five matches, Liem and Minh recorded 6.5 points to win the gold medal.

The silver medal went to the Philippines while Indonesia and Thailand shared the bronze medal.

In the women’s event, Nguyen and Phung defeated their Malaysian rivals and earned six points, drawing with Indonesia.

However, they dropped to silver based on previous results. The bronze went to the Philippines.

Individual and team blitz chess events will take place on May 20 and 21.

SEA Games 31: Malaysia grabs gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics

Gymnast Koi Sie Yan of Malaysia won gold in rhythmic gymnastics at the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) on May 19.

Eleven athletes from Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam competed in rhythmic gymnastics women's final.

After the four-hour competition, Koi claimed top spot with 109.1 points. The silver went to Koi’s teammate Ng Joe Ea with 104.6 points and the bronze to Labadan Breana of the Philippines with 96.65.

Vietnamese gymnasts Ha My and Doan Hong Nhung ranked 7th and 10th with 89.6 and 68.05 points, respectively.

Coming to Vietnam for the first time, but Koi will leave Vietnam as soon as the gymnastics event is over due to a very tight training and competition schedule. Though she did not have time to visit interesting places or watch other competitions, Koi said staying at Lotte Hotel is a great experience for me and my friends in the Malaysian team because the accommodation conditions are really good and impressive.”

Vietnam wins two more SEA Games 31 golds in canoeing

Vietnam championed two canoeing events held in Hai Phong city on May 19, raising the total number of gold medals won by the country in this sport at SEA Games 31 to five so far.

Truong Thi Phuong, Nguyen Thi Huong, Diep Thi Huong and Nguyen Thi Tuyet claimed a gold medal after finishing first in the women’s 1,000m quadruples, leaving the runner-up Indonesia over 10 seconds behind.

Pham Hong Quan and Hien Nam secured another gold in the men’s 1,000m doubles after completing the race just about a second before silver medalists from Thailand.

After three days of competition, canoeing/kayak earned Vietnam five golds, two silvers and one bronze.

The canoeing/kayak competitions will continue on May 20.

SEA Games 31: Gold comes to Vietnam in weightlifting

Weightlifter Lai Gia Thanh set a new SEA Games record and defended his title in the men’s 55kg with a total of 268kg on May 19.

He lifted a clean and jerk of 148kg, higher than his record in the previous SEA Games by 6kg.

The Vietnamese weightlifter took lead in the snatch with 120kg.

Somboon-uan Thada of Thailand bagged the silver medal with a total of 256kg while Mohamad Aniq Kasdan took the bronze.

Meanwhile, Khong My Phuong clinched a silver in the women’s 45kg.

Although she broke the previous SEA Games record set by another Vietnamese weightlifter Vuong Thi Huyen in the snatch with 80kg, Phuong only managed a lift of 92kg in the clean and jerk.

Thanyathon Sukcharoen of Thailand triumphed in the category with a total of 174kg.

Vietnam targets two gold medals in weightlifting of SEA Games 31.

SEA Games 31: Malaysia on track to hit medal target

Malaysia is on track to reach the target of 36 golds, 35 silvers and 75 bronzes at the ongoing 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) in Vietnam.

Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker said on May 18 that Malaysia still had several other sports such as gymnastics, karate and taekwondo that are medal prospects to achieve the target before the biggest regional sport event closes on May 23.

The official said he is happy that Malaysia has passed the halfway mark for the gold target, expressing his belief that with the fighting spirit of athletes, the Malaysian contingent can accomplish their mission.

He also said he hopes that the Harimau Muda (under-23 football squad) will be able to achieve victory over Vietnam in their semi-final on May 19 night.

Malaysia has won 27 golds, 32 silvers and 65 bronzes at SEA Games 31 so far, ranking sixth in the medal tally.

SEA Games 31: Vietnam’s cyclists secure gold, silver in road competitions

Vietnam pocketed a gold and a silver in road cycling events at SEA Games 31 in Hoa Binh province on May 19.

The men’s and women’s road cycling races attracted the participation of 43 athletes from eight countries, namely Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Twenty-one cyclists took part in the men’s event with a distance of 44km.

The gold medal went to Quang Van Cuong of Vietnam, the silver to Sirironnachai Sarawut of Thailand, and the bronze to Yeo Boon Kiak of Singapore.

The women’s event saw the competition on a 29.6km distance by 19 cyclists from seven countries, excluding Cambodia.

Maneephan Jutatip of Thailand crossed the finish line first to bring home a gold medal. Nguyen Thi That of Vietnam followed to earn a silver and Mohamad Zubir Nur Aisyah of Malaysia a bronze medal.

Source: VNA/VNS/VNN/VOV